Ramdin aims to address Windies selectors

published by ikhan on Fri, 02/01/2013 - 07:02

PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD - T&T captain Denesh Ramdin says he is looking forward to getting back into the West Indies team and as such will be going out to make a serious statement to the selectors in the upcoming 2013 regional cricket season.

Ramdin has been overlooked for the current five-match limited overs cricket series against Australia, even after being on the West Indies team that won the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

Ramdin has been replaced by Leeward Islands player Devon Thomas for the series. Speaking on his snub, the right hander said: “I am of course disappointed because I thought that I played well during my last outing with the team. However, having said that, I must but it behind me and look to move on.

“In front of me is the regional first class season, as well as the 50-overs championships. I will be leading my country in this series and I am really looking forward to getting out there and putting in some good work behind the stumps and also be among the runs.

“It is all that I can do now, just continue to address the selectors and continue to keep my name in the mix. The Champions Trophy 50-overs tournament will be coming up and I am looking to be on that squad for that tournament in England.”

When the T&T Guardian sought an explanation for Ramdin’s exclusion, a West Indies Cricket Board official said: “The selectors are trying to keep two wicketkeepers in the mix and this is why they are taking Thomas to Australia.”

Turning his attention to the T&T team, Ramdin, who recently led this country to an unprecedented hat-trick of regional T20 titles, said: “We are going to give it our best shot at winning the first class and 50-overs titles. It is difficult when you lose players to the West Indies team during the series and this has hampered us badly in the past. However, looking at our bench strength, I am happy with what we have and I am confident that a number of them can make the step up and perform well in the regional series when required.

“These boys have been working very hard for the past few months on all formats of the game and they have been improving in all areas. We are all looking forward to all the cricket before us and we are looking to go out there and continue to make our fans proud.”